In commemoration of 9/11, a drone display recreated the Twin Towers. It was called "2,977 Lights Over New York Harbor" and each light represented each individual who was lost on that tragic day just over 25 years ago. This image is a screenshot from the PBS Newshour coverage of the display. And ABC News offered this mesmerizing video coverage. May we never forget.

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In many of the past 25 years, I’ve been in NYC on 9.11. I like going down to Lower Manhattan on or near that day so that I can pay my respects. And remember.

This year was a bit different, as I was down at our home in Delaware on 9.11. So, I commemorated this sacred day by watching some of the live 9.11 ceremonies on TV and watching the PBS Newshour segments that week that covered this important day in American history. The memories flooded back. Occasionally, I wept. Some pain is hard to let go of. Yet, some pain is worth remembering.

One of the common things expressed by survivors, witnesses, family members and first-responders was that, now that we are 25+ years removed from that day, we are in danger of not remembering what happened on that day, a day that so profoundly changed all New Yorkers and all Americans.

I do vividly remember exactly where I was and how I witnessed the events on that day. Back then, I had a clear view of lower Manhattan from my apartment window. I rememberthe brilliant blue sky. And I remember that when the towers fell right in front of my eyes I was in a state of disbelief and shock.

Oddly enough—given what a huge Yankees fan I am—I did not remember that the Yankees lost the World Series that year when the great Mariano Rivera faltered unexpectedly in Game 7.

So much of yoga is about remembering who we really are. Here’s a quote I saved from many years ago (I believe from a spiritual teacher named Mehtab) that speaks to this aspect of yoga practice:

Essentially the journey of yoga is this rediscovery, this remembering of our Oneness, that we are already in Union, and that we have arrived at our destination even before we take the first step on this path.

Whether it is engaging in formal yoga practice, or going to church, mosque, synagogue, and/or meditation center—or simply living life—it is essential that we practice remembering. Specifically, remembering who we really are. As we go through our busy days, it is so easy to come to believe that who we are is the material things we own or this body and mind we’ve been gifted with.

But who we really are is something far more eternal, something that will outlive this body and out-shine this mind. On this point, the Buddhist teacher Arjia Rinpoche reminds us:

As an antidote to the experience of attachment, which from the Buddha’s perspective is a form of poison, practice remembering that all things are impermanent, not real.

Echoing this in a slightly different way, Maryanne Williamson said:

Inner peace doesn’t come from getting what we want, but from remembering who we are.

If 9.11 is helpful in to me in any way, perhaps there is no way more important than that it brings me back to remembering that all the material things I’ve placed so much value on are, in fact, impermanent, not real.

At the very least, my regular meditation practice helps me to observe my attachments, experiencing them without reacting to them. And without—though it be ever so briefly—acting upon them.

And occasionally in my meditation practice, I will experience an itch and will want to scratch it. Sometimes I do, but occasionally I can bear waiting long enough for it to pass. It’s a real-life example for me of the comings and goings of all things that the Buddha spoke of.

And here is a teaching from The Dhammapada, a collection of the Buddha’s teachings (and one I’ve shared previously on this occasion) that is worth remembering again and again:

Hatred never ends with hatred, but by love alone is hatred healed. This is an eternal rule.

It certainly is worth being reminded of something that I believe we all inherently know—that hatred can only be healed by love.

In the next verse, the Buddha goes on to say:

Many forget that one day we here must die.
For those who *remember**, quarrels end.*

I’ve come to know after a long lifetime that I can’t really change anyone else. What I can change, though, is how I treat myself. And part of my own practice is to try, in those moments when I am experiencing self-hatred, to heal myself with love and forgiveness. I try to remember that I’m doing the best I can at this point on my path towards Self-Realization. And in those moments when I remember that, yes indeed, one day I will die, I try to give myself, with the help of grace, the gift of letting go of my inner quarrels with myself.

I certainly don’t know what your quarrels—both with yourself and the world—are. But I hope that as you experience your next beautiful sunset it will give you just what you need to remember who and what you really are. I hope you can commit many conscious acts of remembering this very thing. If so, it will take you far, as you journey forward on your spiritual path towards Higher Awareness.

May you be happy, …
May you be healthy, …
May you remember who you really are, …
And may whatever remembrances you have of who you really are, may they benefit those nearest to you, and from there spread out to somehow help All Beings Everywhere.

Aloha and Metta,
Paul Keoni Chun

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Images from this past month that helped me REMEMBER some important history.

St. Ann's Warehouse in Brooklyn produced a public art exhibition this month called RETURN OF THE BUFFALO: TATANKA OWE AKUPI. It was one of the most incredible displays of public Art I've ever seen. The event started with Native American dances and chants performed in front of the National Museum of the American Indian in Lower Manhattan. Then, a herd of life-size Buffalo puppets begin roaming through Lower Manhattan heading north just past City Hall. According to the event's website, "inspired by the buffalo's extraordinary return—from near extinction to repopulation—Return of the Buffalo ushers in a new period of healing."

I followed the herd from beginning to end. Here are a few photos I took along the way.

Leaving Bowling Green Park to roam uptown -- perhaps for better grazing.

They were so cute! I wish I could take one home!

As they roamed near the NY Stock Exchange, it was a moment of cognitive dissonance for me! What each represents felt like a clash of values.

Roaming near the Freedom Tower -- freely!

Stopping for a water break at City Hall.

Arriving at last at Foley Square for some good grazing!

Pilobolus Dancers communicating with the Buffalo through movement. No dancers were injured during this exchange, so the Buffalo God's must have been appeased!

Also, earlier this month, my husband and I visited Assateague Island in Maryland where we got to view the Wild Horses that have made their home there. Seeing this helped me to remember what can happen if we just let Nature do its thing unobstructed by human intervention.

At Assateague Island someone didn't get the memo!

Let's go Yankees ... clap, clap, clap!

Photo Credits:
Screenshot of "2,977 Lights Over New York Harbor" courtesy of the PBS NewsHour.
Return of the Buffalo, Assateague Island horses and bird, and Yankee's game shot by me.

Engaged Yoga

Yoga and the Act of Remembering

……………………

In many of the past 25 years, I’ve been in NYC on 9.11. I like going down to Lower Manhattan on or near that day so that I can pay my respects. And remember.

One of the common things expressed by survivors, witnesses, family members and first-responders was that, now that we are 25+ years removed from that day, we are in danger of not remembering what happened on that day, a day that so profoundly changed all New Yorkers and all Americans.

Oddly enough—given what a huge Yankees fan I am—I did not remember that the Yankees lost the World Series that year when the great Mariano Rivera faltered unexpectedly in Game 7.

So much of yoga is about remembering who we really are. Here’s a quote I saved from many years ago (I believe from a spiritual teacher named Mehtab) that speaks to this aspect of yoga practice:

Essentially the journey of yoga is this rediscovery, this remembering of our Oneness, that we are already in Union, and that we have arrived at our destination even before we take the first step on this path.

But who we really are is something far more eternal, something that will outlive this body and out-shine this mind. On this point, the Buddhist teacher Arjia Rinpoche reminds us:

As an antidote to the experience of attachment, which from the Buddha’s perspective is a form of poison, practice remembering that all things are impermanent, not real.

Echoing this in a slightly different way, Maryanne Williamson said:

Inner peace doesn’t come from getting what we want, but from remembering who we are.

If 9.11 is helpful in to me in any way, perhaps there is no way more important than that it brings me back to remembering that all the material things I’ve placed so much value on are, in fact, impermanent, not real.

At the very least, my regular meditation practice helps me to observe my attachments, experiencing them without reacting to them. And without—though it be ever so briefly—acting upon them.

And occasionally in my meditation practice, I will experience an itch and will want to scratch it. Sometimes I do, but occasionally I can bear waiting long enough for it to pass. It’s a real-life example for me of the comings and goings of all things that the Buddha spoke of.

And here is a teaching from The Dhammapada, a collection of the Buddha’s teachings (and one I’ve shared previously on this occasion) that is worth remembering again and again:

Hatred never ends with hatred, but by love alone is hatred healed. This is an eternal rule.

It certainly is worth being reminded of something that I believe we all inherently know—that hatred can only be healed by love.

In the next verse, the Buddha goes on to say:

Many forget that one day we here must die.
For those who *remember**, quarrels end.*